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Happy Labor Day Meditation

Work ethic comes in all forms for all kinds of people. Some work hard, while others are able to just do enough to get by, and some just don’t work at all. In Recovery many of us tried to take the same work ethic we had out on streets, or at our jobs, and apply it to our recovery. Some would dive right into the program and would become obsessed with being the best and would find they were miserable. Others would only half measure it and once again find they were miserable too, while still others would do nothing and find they were also miserable. This misery was a direct result of their actions, or lack thereof, and not the program itself. So what is the secret to working a program of recovery?

There is no major secret. In the rooms you may hear things like “stick around till the miracle happens,” or “meeting makers make it,” which are awesome little slogans, but if you don’t understand them, it makes no sense. Want to know what the miracle is? Meeting makers sometimes don’t make it because they haven’t experienced the miracle of the 12-step program. They haven’t experienced the miracle of the program because they haven’t worked one. The miracle of the program, that secret, is that the obsession gets lifted. The obsession to drink or use gets lifted based on your actions in the program. Most people found long-term recovery by following a few basic suggestions and one of those is the 12 steps.

The other part of working the 12 steps is that honesty, openmindness, and willingness will help someone new to the program (or new to working the steps) to thoroughly work the steps. An addict or alcoholic can go through the steps and still pick up if they don’t have the honest desire to stay clean and sober. Recovery is about balance, just like life is, and without that balance it can be difficult to maintain long-term recovery. There are set principles that help guide us in recovery and in life, but if we don’t put in the honest work, we won’t be able to stay clean and sober for long. Anything good in life is worth working for, we tend to appreciate what we have that much more. We also have to remember that without balance we can work ourselves into chaos and pass the peace and serenity that we see others have in the rooms. It works if you work it!